EU official says some citizens might be vaccinated against COVID-19 by Christmas

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told European Union (EU) lawmakers on Wednesday that coronavirus vaccinations could begin in member countries by Christmas, just as promising results for vaccine candidates have come out in recent weeks.

Von der Leyen told European government officials their countries must begin setting up logistical chains to handle the hundreds of millions of vaccine doses that may soon begin rolling out.

“The first European citizens might already be vaccinated before the end of December,” she said.

The Associated Press reports that the commission, the EU’s executive branch, has made agreements with six potential vaccine suppliers and is currently working on a seventh. These arrangements will allow for 1.2 billion doses to be purchased, more than twice the population of the EU countries. Some vaccines will require two doses spaced apart in order to be effective.

Von der Leyen, like many government and health officials, stated that it was not vaccines that truly mattered but, “what counts are vaccinations.” The next coronavirus-related challenge many experts foresee is encouraging people to get immunized as many express concerns that the vaccine development process could have been rushed. Immunology experts and government officials working alongside the vaccine developers have assured the public that the process has been standard and thorough.

Despite the optimistic developments, von der Leyen warned that the EU was far from moving past COVID-19.

“With nearly 3,000 deaths a day, COVID-19 was the number one cause of death in the EU last week. Hospitals remain under stress, and in some regions some intensive care units are overwhelmed,” said von der Leyen.

Several European Union member countries like France, Germany and Italy have gone into second coronavirus lockdowns in recent weeks after cases began to rise again with the colder temperatures. Reports came out this week that Germany will likely be extending its current lockdown.

Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca have all announced in recent weeks that their vaccine candidates have been shown to be highly effective at preventing the coronavirus from being contracted. Pfizer has sent its candidate in for emergency approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Moderna is expected to do the same by the end of the month.

In the U.S., Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Robert Redfield said the first vaccine doses would be available by the middle of December. Members of Operation Warp Speed, the White House’s vaccine development team, have stated that the vaccine could be available to health workers and high-risk individuals as soon as 48 hours after its approval from the FDA.